Blackberry Coconut Scones

Perfectly flaky and tender Blackberry Coconut Scones made with coconut oil, coconut cream, and blackberries – no one will guess that they’re vegan! (Jump to Recipe)

Let me preface this by saying that while I applaud anyone who manages to enjoy life without butter, eggs, cream, steak, and cheese (in no particular order), I am decidedly not vegan.

I actually did try it one summer during law school when I was alone on campus doing research.  In my solitude-induced haze, I watched a lot of documentaries on Netflix about our food supply and healthy eating, and decided to give the whole plant-based life a shot.  To be honest, it wasn’t bad for a couple months.  I like most vegetables and hey, Oreos are technically vegan.  I made flax eggs and drank unsweetened almond milk (and hated it, which I still do) and ate a lot of quinoa and avocado.  Unfortunately, by the time summer ended I was feeling pretty faint and nauseous all the time.  When I nearly passed out in the library one day, I realized I was probably experiencing self-induced anemia (which, looking back on it, was quite predictable).  I ate some chicken and miraculously felt better…and thus ended my vegan days.

That doesn’t mean, however, that I don’t still enjoy some vegan baked goods from time to time.  In fact, as with these blackberry coconut scones, you often can’t even tell when pastries are vegan.  The newfound popularity of coconut oil and coconut cream is a wonderful thing for the vegan and dairy-intolerant among us, and for those of us who like to eat more than one scone in the name of health.

Let’s put it this way.  If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably cut butter into flour before.  To be honest, it’s probably my least favorite baking-related task besides washing dishes.  It’s tedious, frustrating, and seems to take for-ev-er.  There are also a lot of rules.  The butter has to be super cold and it has to be cut in quickly so it doesn’t warm up too much, you have to get it to look like sand but some pieces can be bigger…etc. etc. etc.  What??  Why is life so hard?  I just want a biscuit.  

But listen – if you use coconut oil instead, the rules go out the window.  Just use room temperature (solid) coconut oil and cut it into the flour with a fork.  Within 30-45 seconds, you’ve got the most even, glorious sand-like texture.  LOOK!

It’s a freaking miracle and makes me want to use coconut oil in place of butter every time I have to make a pastry like this.

…sorry butter, I don’t mean it and I still love you.

Alright, let’s get down to scone-making.  It’s really not that hard or time consuming, even though most people assume it is.  We won’t let them be the wiser.

Once you’ve cut that coconut oil into the flour/sugar/baking powder/usual-suspects, stir in some coconut cream, which is basically the vegan version of heavy cream and it’s fantastic.  It even whips up just like regular heavy cream, and it makes fantastic ice cream without having to cook/temper eggs.  More on that soon.

You can buy canned coconut cream at Trader Joe’s, but if you can’t find it, just use full fat canned coconut milk – it’ll work just fine, it just won’t be quite as rich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold in some shredded coconut and blackberries, because I’m forcing spring to arrive here whether it wants to or not.  Pat it out on a floured surface (I used a marble pastry slab but any counter will do) into a round about an inch thick.  Cut into 8 wedges, sprinkle with coarse or turbinado sugar if you like, and …wait for a while as they sit in the freezer.  I know I said all the rules were going out the window, but these scones need to be cold when they go in the oven or they won’t rise as well, and they’ll spread out.  That doesn’t mean they’ll be bad…but we can wait a few minutes in our pursuit of perfectly flaky scones.

When they come out of the oven, these lovely scones are tall, just slightly browned, and smell deliciously coconutty.  Yes, coconutty.

I love how the berries kind of burst and get puddly in the oven.  They get both sweeter and more tart too, and I’m not really sure how but it’s delicious.

These blackberry coconut scones are perfectly flaky and tender, biscuit-like but lighter – the way scones should be.  Serve them with hot coffee or tea and a good book on a Saturday.  No one will know they’re vegan, and no one will care once they taste them.  Trust me.